Vancouver Alley to Transform into Interactive Art Installation

"Field" will transform Vancouver's Ackery's Alley into an interactive light and sound experience

Andrea Nazarian

July 17, 2017

Thanks to a highly successful Kickstarter campaign from local group More Awesome Now, downtown Vancouver's Ackery Alley (located off Granville Street in the alley behind the Orpheum Theatre) is set to be transformed into a multimedia art and performance space. More Awesome Now, which includes the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA) and HCMA Architecture and Design, raised $64,736 for the project, nearly doubling its original goal.

The first installation in the space will be "Field," an interactive art experience by Vancouver-based artist Alex Beim. The installation uses sensors that detect the presence of people. The lights and speakers part of the "Field" piece will change and emit sounds in response to movement, creating a unique audio-visual experience for each visitor passing through the alley.

"Through their pledges, Vancouverites have sent a message that they value public art and spaces that foster social connection and interaction-and they want to see more of it," said Charles Gauthier, president and CEO of the DVBIA. "We're absolutely blown away by the incredible response we got from this campaign, and we're particularly impressed with the significant financial support this project received from many corporate backers as well."

Ackery Alley is the second of three Vancouver alleys to be redesigned by More Awesome Now, the first of which was Alley-Oop located south of West Hastings between Granville and Seymour. Completion of Ackery Alley is expected at the end of the summer.

Andrea is the Content and Social Media Specialist at REW.ca. Andrea has over five years of multi-industry experience in communications and content marketing. Originally from Toronto, Andrea moved to Vancouver in April 2016 and has been loving the West Coast life ever since.